Monday, September 3, 2018

Moses is a biblical name (prophet). Noah is also a biblical name (pre-flood patriarch; Noah's Arc). Noah Moses sounds like a powerful name combination.Well, it is.Noah Moses was a powerful person - publisher and longtime editor of the large, influential hebrew newspaper "Yediot Ahronot" ("Last News"). He died at 73 after being hit by a car outside the office building of his newspaper in downtown Tel Aviv.The street segment close to the building was then named 'Moses street', in memory of both Noah and his father Yehuda. Until quite lately I thought the entire, long street was named Moses, but no, the rest of the street has retained its original name -'Nachalat Yitzhach' .Yitzhak (hebrew for Isaac) - another biblical name; one of the three patriarchs of the jewish people.

Oh, but what a spot this tiny Moses street is! It starts with a bridge over a river (or what has remained of it), Hayalon river. It is within walking distance from Azrieli center with one of the greatest malls in the country, from a central railway station, and from bus stations to any part of the country.

on the bridge

The noise under the bridge coming from cars , trains and water (in winter) is deafening and the proximity to a major road makes it even worse. So, only Nachalat Yitzhack street is ,in fact,residential ; it has low buildings, several towers, a community center, a tourist agency, a bank, eateries {the shawarma eatery was recommended on Trip Advisor!}, a mini market, and a cemetery at its end .

the Hayalon river now in summer;train rails nearby

eatery

'Eshet Tour' - tourism agency

mini market

bank

the cemetery . Yes. the sign points at a tzadik's grave

The newspaper's headquarters which was at nr 1 of Moses street, has been demolished. They (Noah Mozes' heirs) sold the land to Azrieli Center and moved to a new place in another town, Rishon Letzion, where they already owned a printing facility and a distribution center.

demolished site behind the green sign; construction going on.

What's interesting is that they demanded and obtained that the adjacent street at the new place in Rishon Letzion town, be named Moses too, and their offices building marked nr 1. Interesting, but not surprising. The newspaper has money, influence and probably pays high taxes to the municipality,so what the publisher wants, the publisher gets. And the publisher is Arnon (Noni) Moses, the son of the late Noah Moses. Arnon in hebrew means 'rushing stream' (in honor of Hayalon stream , perhaps?!); Like the stream, and unlike his father, Arnon Moses seems to be fickle and somehow manipulative like most of the news people today who foolishly believe they're God-like, have the power to do anything they wish. Both his newspaper and its online edition (Ynet) though most popular, often present the reader with onesided news to promote a certain agenda. Luckily, people have lost their naivete, they look more at life around , and less at the printed word.